The present invention is directed to apparatus for gripping a length of pipe in sizes on the order of 6 to 12 inches in diameter and lengths as long as about 18 to 21 feet and installing such lengths of pipe in a narrow trench on the order of 24 inches in width, without the necessity of a person being in the trench.
In constructing pipelines using lengths of pipe in sizes of the order of those set forth above, it has heretofore been necessary to position a worker in the trench to assist in aligning and installing the length of pipe for joining with a previously laid length of pipe. For purposes of workers' safety, when a worker is working in a trench deep enough to present a cave-in hazard to a worker located in the trench, government regulations require some type of shoring or shielding for preventing cave-in of the trench in the area in which the worker is located. For example, U.S. Pat. No. 4,310,267 discloses a safety trench box and U.S. Pat. No. 4,685,837 discloses a multi-sided portable trench and pit form system for protecting workers in trenches. The use of such shielding or shoring mechanism and the necessity of having a worker in the trench results in significantly higher costs for installation of lengths of pipes than if the pipe lengths could be installed without the necessity of a worker being in the trench.